TLW Solicitors enlisted to help holiday makers fight back against scammers

Head of marketing and business development at TLW Solicitors, Alistair McDonald

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A North East law firm has spread its reach overseas after being enlisted to help thousands of holidaymakers across Europe fight back against timeshare scammers.

TLW Solicitors, which specialises in dealing with financial mis-selling, has begun working with a number of Spanish consumer rights bodies to help stem the rising tide of timeshare fraud.

The pan-European organisations advise and protect victims and potential victims of scams targeting the timeshare industry.

North Shields-based TLW will be acting for and advising English speakers who fall foul of such scams on the Continent.

The alliance comes as a fraud epidemic continues to sweep through the timeshare sector.

Earlier this year, Spanish police smashed a timeshare fraud ring which was generating more than £4m per year, scamming at least 500 victims out of up to £35,000 each in the process.

Alistair McDonald, head of marketing and business development at TLW, said: “While timeshares remain hugely popular among holidaymakers, they are unfortunately rife with scammers and fraudsters.

“Our collaboration with a number of these organisations will be to lead the battle against such criminals and to help victims fight back legally and move on with their lives.”

It is estimated that some 500,000 British holidaymakers are currently tied into timeshare schemes, with thousands more being duped every year.

Mr McDonald added: “Timeshare agreements can be notoriously difficult to get out of, with some signed in perpetuity, meaning they are carried onto family members when the purchaser of the scheme passes on.

“Among numerous types of scam is resale fraud, in which fake agents, lawyers and even court officials conspire to con money out of the same people several times.

“Initially individuals are fraudulently ‘sold’ a property, then fake lawyers offering to recover the lost funds request fees upfront, before a supposed court official asks for further fees to free up the recovered losses.

“Other scams include the promise of free gifts to lure people to presentations, where they are forced to pay an administration cost and are aggressively sold timeshares.

“Our legal team will work to free British individuals from such agreements and protect them from other types of timeshare fraud.”

TLW provides a range of legal services in areas included professional negligence, personal injury, motoring offences and financial mis-selling across the UK and Europe, catering for both individuals and business clients.